Into the Breach
by Morpheus9
Summary: This shall be my tale of the end of the war with Voldemort. I'm impatient and I have ideas. So please read and review. Warning: there shall be violence, angst, romance, sex, slash, and whatever else I feel like throwing in. ::COMPLETE::
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc.

Ok, this is my tale of the end of the new war. I'm going to go on with my own theories about what will happen, so if you're angry with the outcome, direct it at me.

thus far, it's just talk about what has happened. Nothing graphic. More intense chapters to come.

* * *

Harry and Draco landed outside the new headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. It was a simple house that was hidden amongst muggle houses. It was dark when they arrived. Harry stood for a moment and thought to himself, 'The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is 20 Paddington Place.' A door appeared in between the houses 19 and 21 along with the rest of the house. Harry and Draco quickly walked forward and walked into the house. The house was dark but warm after their long journey through the cold air. They put their brooms in the corner and hung their cloaks up on the coat rack. Mrs. Weasley called out from the kitchen,

"Is that you Harry?"

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley, and I've brought Draco Malfoy with me." Mrs. Weasley stood in the door way from the kitchen. "I see," she said visibly trying to remain calm.

"You heard about the attack in Diagon Alley?"

"Yes, I just got the news."

"Anyone you knew?"

"Several... some I knew just by name from George and Fred talking and such. But others..." She turned away and walked back into the kitchen. Harry walked into the kitchen while Draco remained in the living room.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley," Harry said gently. "And Draco wants to help. He's all ready helped me with other battles. He was with me when Ron died too. We can trust him."

"How do you know that he's not that reason Ron is dead?"

"I was there. Draco had been bound in ropes. I had been frozen. There wasn't much either of us could do."

"I know... I just... I'm fixing dinner and it should be ready soon. Remus and Tonks are out but they'll be back soon." Harry nodded and walked back into the living room. He knew by now to leave Mrs. Weasley alone when something was upsetting her. Cooking and cleaning seemed to always be her cure-alls. Draco had settled into an arm chair near the fire and was staring into the flames. Harry sat in a chair near by and sighed heavily.

"Remus and Tonks will be back soon," said Harry quietly. "And Mrs. Weasley will be done with the dinner soon."

"Do you think they'll let me stay here with my father being a death eater and all."

"Your father is."

"And I still bear the mark."

"But you are here. You're not with them. That's what matters at this point." Draco looked to Harry to see if he was serious and found only sincerity on Harry's face. Draco turned back to the fire and stared once more into the flames that were licking the sides of the fireplace.

"You've never asked me why," said Draco calmly.

"Why what?"

"Why I became a death eater."

"I assumed that it had something to do with your father."

"It had a lot to do with my father." Draco didn't speak further and Harry didn't press for answers. Soon after the door opened and Remus and Tonks walked in looking rather weary.

"Good evening Harry," said Remus. "And good evening Draco. Is Mrs. Weasley cooking?"

"Yes Lupin," said Harry. "She said that dinner should be ready soon. Good evening Tonks."

"And to you Harry," she said settling in one of the remaining arm chairs. She glanced at Draco but he seemed lost in his own thoughts so she decided not to disturb the boy's thoughts.

"Where have you been?" asked Harry.

"I was fetching Remus. Greyback has been getting more and more fierce lately. He's certain there's a spy amongst the werewolves and I didn't want Remus in danger." Harry nodded remembering Remus's descriptions of Greyback. Remus went on into the kitchen to see about dinner. "How are you?"

"I heard about Diagon Alley and I came here. I need to find Voldemort. I want this to be over soon." Tonks twitched slightly when he said he was looking for Voldemort, but then she nodded silently.

"When I heard, I knew you would be angry. I knew you would want to start something."

"Well, you were right," said Draco finally speaking. "And I told him I was coming with him."

"Times like these, we need all the help we can get. What about Hermione?"

"She left me a note. Several friends of hers died and she is off paying her respects. She promised me that she will be here soon. It may be as late as tomorrow morning." Tonks only nodded.

"I'll make sure to leave some candles lit safely when I go to bed tonight," she said reassuringly. "The last thing a person needs to see after so much death is a dark house that you want to be safe in." Harry nodded.

"Dinner's ready," said Remus from the kitchen door. Harry, Draco, and Tonks all silently made their way to the table and sat down. Mrs. Weasley put a cauldron of soup on the table and a basket of bread. She put down bowls and mugs of butter beer in front of each of them. After she took her seat at the table they began serving themselves soup and silently drinking their butter beer and eating the soup she had made. Mr. Weasley joined them a few minutes later along with Bill and Charlie. They all came into the room silently and immediately sat down and started eating the soup. Ron's death hung heavy in the room. Harry couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as he looked at the people he considered family. Draco seemed to read Harry's mind and gently patted Harry on the knee under the table. Harry suddenly felt grateful that Draco had come along with him.

"Is Hermione going to be coming here Harry?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"She had friends die in Diagon Alley, so she'll be here much later tonight or even early tomorrow morning."

"I'll keep something on the stove just in case."

"How are Fred and George?" asked Harry suddenly. He tried to remember if he had seen their names on the list, but he swore that he would have seen that.

"They were taking a day off," said Mrs. Weasley with a sigh of relief. "Their shop was partially destroyed in the fight, so they've been at the shop cleaning up. They should be back soon." As she spoke these words the front door opened and Fred and George came through the front door looking very tired and dirty.

"The shop's an incredible mess," said Fred with a sigh as he sat down.

"Somebody must have thrown in some bombs or something because the front window was broken and there was a lot of wreckage," said George following his twin brother to the table. "It's going to take a lot of time to clean everything up. When did you get here Harry?"

"An hour ago," Harry replied. He was slightly offended that they hadn't noticed him when they walked in but then he considered the scene they had just come from and probably the entire Ministry of Magic sitting in the kitchen would have gone unnoticed by them at this point.

"Sorry Harry," said Fred looking up. "The store was a wreck and just seeing Diagon Alley..." Fred's voice trailed off and no one wanted to ask why. The others at the table suddenly became quite interested in the soup in front of them. Fred snapped out of his reverie and slowly began to eat his soup. An owl tapped on the window with a viciousness that made everyone including Draco jump. Draco recognized his owl and let the bird in long enough to get the message from its leg before the bird flew off again at great speed. Draco was a little surprised by the bird's behavior and watched the bird as it sped away in the night.

"What is it?" asked Harry cautiously. Draco opened the message and felt his heart sink into his stomach.

"It's... it's..." Draco felt his stomach clench around the soup he had been eating. He felt the room spin and he grabbed the counter top trying to keep himself upright. He put the message down on the table and read it over again. He glanced around feeling his stomach clench again and ran to the nearest trash can before he threw up all the soup he had been eating. He felt a gentle hand on his back that he recognized as Harry's by the touch of it. He heard the crinkle of parchment as someone else picked up the message. He didn't care who read it, they would find out soon enough. He heard someone gasp and the parchment being passed. He still felt sick and didn't want to stray from the trash can. He felt Harry's hand on his shoulder and he could feel by the touch of Harry's hand that he knew.

"What is it?" he heard one of the twins say.

"It's his parents," said Lupin's voice quietly. "Voldemort knew that Draco was coming here with Harry. He killed Draco's parents as revenge." Draco's grip on the trashcan eased and he slowly tried to straighten up. He felt Harry's gentle hands on his body and tried to form words.

"I'm okay..." he finally muttered. "I just... I want to lie down."

"Ok," said Harry. "Mrs. Weasley, is the room I usually stay in all right?"

"Yes of course Harry, go on ahead and I'll bring up some tea."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," said Draco slowly as Harry guided him up the stairs and into the room that he and Ron once shared. He quickly helped Draco into his pajamas and then put him to bed in one of the two beds in the room. A few minutes later Mrs. Weasley gently knocked on the door with a cup of tea in her hands. Harry gratefully took it from her.

"Will he be all right Harry?" she asked quietly.

"I think he will," said Harry, "I think now he just needs some rest." Mrs. Weasley nodded in her usual motherly fashion.

"Let me know if you need anything," she said gently before turning away from the door and going back down the stairs. Harry quietly shut the door and handed Draco the tea. Draco drank the cup of tea and tried to keep his breathing even.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly.

"For what?" said Harry confused.

"For... all that downstairs."

"Everyone understands Draco, it's nothing to be ashamed of." Draco nodded numbly and finished the cup of tea in one gulp. Putting the tea cup on the side he laid down in the bed and pulled the covers up to his chin.

"I'm so tired..." Draco murmured before he fell asleep. Harry quietly stood up and took the tea cup back downstairs. After putting the tea cup next to the sink he sat back down at his place at the table.

"Is Draco all right?" asked Lupin after Harry had sat back down.

"He's sleeping right now," said Harry quietly as if his words would wake Draco. "I thought it best to leave him to sleep for a little while."

"I... well... I'll be honest and say that his father and I didn't get along, but then you can't get along with everyone. And I've never wished his parents to be killed."

"Even if they were death eaters?"

"Even so Harry, they are people, and they are his parents."

"Were his parents. With all his parents have put him through..."

"Parents can put you through hell and it will still knock the wind out of you when you get word that they have died, or worse yet that they have been killed."

"But why? If they were so evil that he feared them... why would it still affect him so?"

"It's complicated Harry. While they may have been evil and awful to him, there are probably a few happy memories that he holds onto. A few moments where they actually showed him that they loved him. They can be evil as they want, and he'll be angry at them for it and then feel bad because of those few times that they showed him that they loved him. It's what makes abusive parents and their abused children so difficult to fathom."

"I'm worried that Voldemort will come after him."

"It is a possibility, especially now that he's with us and Voldemort killed his parents specifically to threaten Draco. It is something to consider."

"You won't make him leave?"

"By Merlin, no! This is one of the safest places he can stay. And as long as he is in danger I will make sure that he is protected here."

"He wants to fight Voldemort with me, but now that Voldemort has killed his parents I'm afraid he will want to get revenge and do something that will get him killed. I'm tired of death."

"Understandably, and you are far too young to be tired of death so soon. But that is how the times are. I'd wait to see what will happen. If he does want revenge, you could find a way to keep him hidden."

"How?"

"The Fidelius Charm could keep him hidden from Voldemort if it becomes necessary. I or one of us could be the secret keeper." Harry nodded at the people he trusted. "But let's just wait and see." They heard the door open and a ruffled Hermione appeared in the doorway looking pale. Harry rushed to her and held her tightly. Neither spoke, but neither had to. Everyone in the room sighed with relief that she was alive. As she sat down at the table she was filled in about Draco and his parents. She gave an exhausted sigh and leaned on George while eating her soup slowly.

"Diagon Alley was such a mess," she groaned. "I'm sorry about your shop boys." the twins nodded to her their thanks. "This has got to stop somehow."

"That's why I'm here," said Harry evenly. Hermione looked slightly surprised, but then the surprise disappeared and she nodded with a knowing look. "I'm tired of this too Hermione. I want this over with. We need a plan and we need to go out against him soon. We'll start on this tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow?"

"Hermione, I'm exhausted, so is everyone else in this house including you. There's been enough death and destruction for one day. We need to rest, bury the dead, lick our wounds, and then we can regroup and get together a plan." Hermione seemed like she wanted to protest again, but then she stopped and leaned against George again. It seemed she was finally giving into the exhaustion eating away at everyone.

Silently everyone got up and moved to their rooms to sleep for the night. Harry locked the door and laid down on his bed a few feet from Draco. Looking over at Draco he saw the blond twitching in his sleep from a nightmare. Not caring who saw them in the morning, he slipped under the covers next to Draco in the same bed and held Draco until the twitching stopped and his breathing returned to normal.

"Tomorrow," whispered Harry, "tomorrow we will have plan, and we'll end this soon. I promise you."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc.

Warning: there's some theories that I have in here. this is after the Half Blood Prince. There's some man/man love but no sex right now.

Please read and review.

* * *

Harry sat at the table the next morning between Hermione and Draco. Laid out in front of them were a couple of maps and a few spell books open to pages that contained spells they found useful. Mrs. Weasley refilled their tea cups again as she listened in on their conversation. They had tried to keep her out of it, but had given up long ago. Lupin and Tonks sat across from them and were helping the youngsters across from them formulate a plan.

"The biggest thing to remember Harry is that Voldemort has almost gathered together all the pieces of his soul that he has hidden away," said Lupin cautiously. "The last horcrux is still missing."

"Does anyone have idea what it could be?" said Harry looking around at the others.

"We've thought and thought but nothing has come up. We've tried some relics from Hogwarts history but thus far nothing has worked."

"All right, let me make sure I have this right," said Draco calmly and writing down on a piece of paper. "He wanted to hide pieces of his soul in seven places. To do this, he would have to kill seven people. So, first we have the notebook that Ginny found. Then the ring that was his grandfather's. The locket that was Salazar Slytherin's. The cup owned by Hufflepuff. The snake Nagini. The sixth horcrux is the one that's missing?"

"We had a theory that it was a relic of Ravenclaw or Gryffindor," said Harry nodding. "The problem being that the Gryffindor relic that would be most important to him is the sword and it's being kept at Hogwarts so it can't be that. If there is a relic of Ravenclaw then no one's sure where or what it could be. No one's sure when he will find it."

"He doesn't know where it is?"

"You would think he would know. But it seems that he doesn't. Wouldn't he have gotten it by now if he knew where it was?"

"True. But it bothers me that he wouldn't know where something that important would be." Harry had to agree. It didn't seem like the kind of thing Voldemort would just put anywhere or even loose like one looses keys or a book.

"We have to figure out where it is or else Voldemort will be able to come back," said Lupin. "That's the whole point. No matter if he's dead or not, there's still a part of him somewhere alive. All we have to do is find the last horcrux and destroy it." Draco seemed deep in thought.

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"I was just thinking, in order to rip one's soul apart you must kill someone."

"Right."

"The last people that he killed were your parents."

"Yes... what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that the last horcrux might be something that your parents' owned. Or..." Draco looked up at Harry's scar on his forehead.

Suddenly everyone at the table understood what Draco was thinking. There was a collective gasp and everyone including Draco tensed.

"No," said Harry shaking his head. He stood up from the table and knocked over the chair he had been sitting in. "No. No. I can't be the last horcrux. There's no way. That can't be it." Draco stood as well and locked eyes with Harry. He felt horrible for even suggesting that this could be possible, but he couldn't deny that it was possible.

"Harry I didn't want to suggest this. But it's the only thing I can think of. And plus it would explain a lot."

"Like what!"

"Uh... your ability to speak Parsel tongue, your scar burns every time that Voldemort is angry, your visions of what Voldemort does, the fact that he couldn't kill you alone says that something went wrong and somehow, trying to kill you made you a horcrux instead and gave you a piece of Voldemort's soul."

"But... but... I'm not evil..."

"I'm not saying that you are evil Harry!"

"I have a piece of the most evil wizard of all time's soul in me! What else can I be?"

"Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One. The Defeater of Voldemort. That's who you are. It doesn't matter that you have a piece of his soul. That makes the two of you equals. You know how he thinks, what he will do, and you are the only one who can stop him."

"But then I'll have to die. In order for the last piece of his soul to be destroyed, I have to be destroyed."

"No, Harry, there has to be another way. Dumbledore was able to extract the piece of Voldemort's soul from that ring. That ring was never destroyed. We can find a way to get that one piece of Voldemort's soul out of you and you won't have to be killed."

"But how? Dumbledore was an incredibly powerful wizard and extracting that soul from the ring alone hurt him terribly. To extract it from me... it could kill someone."

"We'll find a way. There has to be a way to do this and we will find a way."

"How?"

"I don't know how. But you are surrounded by people who love you. We will find a way."

"And if it turns out that you have to kill me?"

"Don't talk like that."

"I want your word Draco. I want your word that if it comes to that, you will be the one who kills me."

"Harry!" shouted Hermione in protest.

"No! I don't want my blood on anyone's hands. But if it has to be, I want it to be Draco. Give me your word." Draco took in a deep breath and steeled himself.

"I promise you, if it comes to that, I will be the one to kill you." A silence fell audibly over the room. Harry and Draco continued to stare at each other while everyone else stared at the both of them.

"Thank you," said Harry finally. Harry looked around at the room slowly as if he was surprised to see everyone else in it. "We need more information. Tomorrow we need to go to the library and look up everything we can about dark magic so we know what we are up against. We also need to find any information on horcruxes that we can, how they are made and how they are destroyed or the soul is extracted from them. We need to research everything that we need to know to fight Voldemort."

"Why tomorrow?"

"We've all ready wasted half of today figuring out what we have. We need to spend the rest of the day cooking potions and practicing spells to fight Voldemort."

"Well, you're better at potions with that potions book you've been using," said Hermione helpfully. "I can do several spells without speaking and I can try practicing them today. George is pretty good at spells but better at charms. We'll practice in the back garden while you cook up some potions with Draco." Harry silently nodded and watched as Hermione and George went out into the back garden to practice their spells and charms. Then he pulled out two cauldrons.

"I'm going to work on a wound healing potion. Can you get to work on a blood replenishing potion?"

"Sure," said Draco taking the other cauldron. Both carefully worked on their potions and bottled them until they had ten vials of each ready for what may come. Then both of them cooked up anti poison potions for the rest of the day.

That night all of them sat at the dinner table with Mrs. Weasley's dinner in front of them. They were tired and worn out from the day. N one really spoke except for the usual pleasantries that accompanied a normal meal. Everyone was tense about what was going to happen and the tension made the air thick. Harry ate barely anything and went upstairs before anything could be said. Draco finished his dinner quickly and followed.

"Are you all right?" asked Draco quietly as he shut and locked the door behind him. Harry was curled up in a fetal ball under the covers. Harry's body shook slightly and Draco didn't have to hear anything to know that Harry was crying.

"I'm so scared..." Harry choked out between gasps. "What if we can't find anything?"

"We will." Draco walked across the room and stood next to the bed. He quickly pulled off his shoes and socks before getting into bed next to Harry. He carefully put his arms around the shaking boy and pulled him close to his own body.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I can't. But I have faith. I believe that there is a way. I refuse to believe that I will have to give you up just so that an evil wizard can die." Draco knew what he had said had hit Harry in some secret place where he believed he was alone. Draco just held Harry closer to him and nuzzled the nape of Harry's neck.

"Thank you," murmured Harry before he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc.

Summary: the library fails our heroes and the boys have a much needed time out for each other and begin to realize something.

WARNING: yummy gay sex, so if you don't like it, don't read it.

* * *

Harry stretched back in his chair in the library. He had been crouched over the same book for the past hour reading and re-reading the same page on horcruxes. It was one of the few books in the library that actually held information on horcruxes. Thus far only the person who had put the piece of the soul in the object was able to extract it from the object. However the book did say that a piece of a soul had been extracted from an object by someone other than the owner of the soul. But since the person who did the extracting had been killed it was advised that the horcrux simply be destroyed.

"Unfortunately that's not an option here," Harry muttered quietly.

"Very true," said Draco looking at the page Harry was staring at. Draco also had an open book in front of him. "This book also mentions that guy. He extracted it from a ring. Everyone in these books assumes that the horcrux is just an object. Something that no one would care about destroying."

"Now if only no one cared about killing me we would be in business." Draco turned to Harry slowly.

"I promised to kill you, but only if there was no other way. Until I have to, I won't kill you."

"Careful. I might start thinking you care about me."

"I don't want to kill you." Draco turned back to his book and stared at the same page he had been staring at for the past hour. "I just want to know if there is a way we can get out of this without me becoming a killer."

"You were going to kill Dumbledore."

"I didn't. I didn't want to become a killer. I didn't want to kill a professor, and now I don't want to kill a friend even more." Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco.

"A friend? Yeah right."

"Damn you Harry." Draco didn't care anymore who saw what. He grabbed Harry and kissed the boy full on the mouth. Then he turned back to his book and stared at his book again. Harry stared at Draco with a surprised look on his face.

"What... why..."

"People care about you Harry. I care about you. There, my great secret revealed." Harry was still shocked by the fact that Draco had kissed Harry in a public place.

"Draco... I'm sorry I made you promise to kill me." Draco took in a deep breath and said,

"Thank you, Harry."

* * *

That night they had arrived back at home with no more knowledge than they had had when they left the house. The mood around the house was quiet. No one openly showed how frustrated, angry, upset, and nervous they were. Most of all, they were disappointed that they hadn't been able to find anything that could help Harry. But then most everything that pertained to the darkest of the Dark Arts and anything written about Voldemort was restricted or else no one would speak about it or let anyone near it. Dinner was a quiet affair. No one spoked much beyond quiet requests for the butter or the potatoes or the salt. Half way through dinner Harry left the table saying he was tired. Draco stayed until Mrs. Weasley cleared away the plates and then went up to the room he and Harry had been sharing.

He quietly walked into the dark room and locked the door behind him. He could see Harry's huddled form under the blankets of the bed. Harry's shoulders shook slightly. Draco wasn't surprised by this and quickly took off his shoes and socks. He slipped into the bed next to Harry and gently held his friend close to him.

"It's all right Harry," he whispered to the dark haired boy. "It's all right. I'm here." Harry turned over in Draco's arms and kissed Draco with a passion tinted with desperation. Draco held Harry tightly and kissed him back. He understood why this was happening. He knew it was because Harry was desperate to feel life. In the face of so much death even he wanted some kind of human contact. He just wasn't sure that Harry would be receptive of it until now. The kiss got deeper and hungrier as the two began to pull each other's clothes off their bodies until they were naked and writhing together on the bed.

"Draco..." Harry sighed hungrily into Draco's ear. "Please... I need... something..."

"I know..." said Draco gently looking Harry in the eyes. "I know, it's ok. I'm here. I'll be whatever you need me to be."

"I want to be inside you... I want to feel... something..." Draco kissed Harry on the neck and reached for the bottle of lube he'd brought with him and had hidden under the bed in case a situation like this had occurred. He squeezed a generous amount of lube in his hand and gently lubed Harry's hard aching need and made Harry gasp and moan. Draco carefully positioned himself over Harry and eased the hard aching need he wanted so much into himself. Draco's spine arched and his head rolled back as he closed his eyes and gasped at the feeling of this boy before him so deep inside of him.

"Gods Harry..." he gasped looking down at the boy in front of him.

"Draco... I... tell me... if I hurt you..." Draco tried to make his smile understanding. He gently touched Harry's cheek and said simply,

"Do what you want... I'm whatever you need me to be tonight." Harry grabbed Draco's hips quickly and began thrusting into Draco hesitantly at first afraid that he would hurt this boy above him with his need and desperation. But Draco only gasped and moaned quietly with pleasure. Harry got braver and each thrust he drove into the blond boy was a little faster and a little harder. Draco took everything that Harry dished out. He took it willingly and without hesitation. He understood and he enjoyed it. He had to admit that there were times when he had wanted Harry to be rougher with him but was never sure how to ask him. This wasn't the way he had always wanted this to be, but it would do for now. Harry sat up with the force of his climax and they kissed each other hard as Draco joined him in the ecstasy. Draco held Harry tightly to him as they laid down on the bed. Harry shook and cried with the release of his emotions that were released along with his orgasm. Draco kissed Harry's forehead and held him tightly.

"I'm sorry..." Harry choked out.

"It's all right... don't be sorry. I'm here. I understand." Harry let his tears run down his face and onto Draco's chest. Draco just held Harry tightly and gently rubbed his back. After about an hour Harry's cries subsided and he and Draco were nestling in to sleep. Draco still held Harry tightly to himself.

"Be careful Draco," said Harry quietly, "I might start thinking you're falling for me." Draco placed a gentle kiss on the top of Harry's head.

"Maybe I am," said Draco quietly and a little shaky. Harry looked up at Draco through tear-blurred eyes.

"Maybe I am too," whispered Harry as he moved up the bed to look Draco in the eyes.

"Falling for yourself? That was unexpected."

"For you. I think I'm falling for you." The two stared at each other for a few moments before gently kissing each other. Harry snuggled down into Draco's chest and fell asleep listening to Draco's heart.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc.

Morning before a battle is always important. I've left it at a cliff hanger of sorts, but I should have the next chapter up soon.

Please read and review and kudos to those who have reviewed.

* * *

Harry woke with a start the next morning. His scar was burning like a branding iron to his head. He winced and pressed his hand to his scar hoping that would somehow help. Draco woke when he felt Harry pull away from him so quickly and sat up next to Harry.

"What's wrong?" asked Draco calmly. Harry still had his hand to his scar.

"It's burning. Gah... like a branding iron to my forehead."

"Do I need to get someone?"

"No, no... it should go away soon." Draco pushed Harry's hand away from the scar and put his own hand over the scar. Draco's cool skin eased the pain and soon the burning stopped. Harry sighed with relief as Draco's hand moved from Harry's forehead to his cheek and gently cradled Harry's face. Draco's lips first kissed Harry's cheek and then gently kissed Harry's lips. Harry kissed Draco back and they laid down together on the bed. Harry snuggled down into Draco's shoulder and let out a tired sigh. Draco put a gentle arm on Harry's back and held the boy gently.

"I'm sorry," muttered Harry into Draco's shoulder.

"Don't be," replied Draco putting a gentle kiss on Harry's forehead.

"What time is it?"

"It's four thirty in the morning. We don't have to be up for another good while."

"I'd rather stay here anyway." Draco smiled a sad smile.

"I know, but today we have to decide what to do."

"I wish... I wish this was all over right now."

"I know."

* * *

George and Hermione snuggled close to each other in bed.

"I'm worried," said Hermione.

"I know," replied George stroking her hair.

"What if we don't find anything? What if we can't find a way?"

"We will. There has to be a way, and we will find it."

"I've never let down my friends before. I've always been able to find a way."

"Easy darling, you're starting to obsess."

"In school I always found a way. I could always find a way. No matter what happened I was always there with my books and ready to fix things. I've never let them down before. I can't-" George stopped her words with a deep kiss.

"It will be all right," he said calmly to her. "We will find a way." Hermione sighed and buried her head in George's shoulder.

"I'm sorry George."

"It's all right Mione. We're all worried and stressed about this."

"I know... I just... I..." George kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I know."

* * *

Mrs. Weasley was sitting up in a chair next to the window staring out at the front lawn. She had been up for an hour and had been staring out the window since she woke from a nightmare. Mr. Weasley was still asleep and was snoring softly. Mrs. Weasley bit her nails nervously.

"Molly...?" said Mr. Weasley looking at his wife through bleary eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing Arthur," she said trying to keep her voice even. "Just go back to sleep."

"Molly, you can't fool me that easily."

"I had a nightmare. The same nightmare I've had for months. Everyone dies, and I wasn't' able to stop it. I've lost Ron."

"That wasn't your fault Molly."

"I wasn't there. I couldn't protect my son from Death Eaters. How can I protect the rest of my family?" Mr. Weasley calmly stood up from his bed and walked to his wife holding out his hand.

"We'll do our best. We will finish this, one way or another."

"And if we have to sacrifice more of our children?"

"We aren't sacrificing them. They know what is happening. They know the danger they are putting themselves in. It's their choice, not ours."

"Why? Why isn't it our choice anymore?"

"Because they're getting older Molly. They're growing up. They're growing up in war time and they know what's happening and they want to be involved. They have the right to be involved. We can protect them the best we can, but it's still their choice to walk out that door and into the world. So, please come back to bed." Mrs. Weasley gave a resigned sigh and went with her husband back to bed. They cuddled in close as they had done a thousand times before.

"I'm sorry I worried you," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'm just so worried."

"I know," said Mr. Weasley before they both drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Remus and Tonks were lying in bed next to each other.

"You feeling any better?" asked Tonks gently who had woken Remus up from a particularly violent nightmare.

"Yeah, I'm getting there. It was just bad."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not much to talk about. Just death, destruction, and I'm responsible."

"But you're not." Remus turned on his back and stared up at the ceiling while Tonks made herself comfortable on his chest, her fiery red hair spreading over her shoulders and his chest.

"There's a chance. There's always a chance..."

"You know I won't let that happen. None of us will ever let that happen."

"I'm not just talking about being a werewolf. I mean that all of us have the potential to get killed when another one of us is near. I'm just scared of loosing people again... loosing you..." Remus wistfully stroked Tonk's hair down to the smooth skin of her back.

"You know you're not the only one who thinks about that."

"I know."

* * *

Everyone at the breakfast table was quiet as they ate their breakfast. Hardly anyone ate much beyond a piece of toast. From the looks of it, no one had slept well the night before. Harry leaned back in his chair and rested the back of his head against the back of the chair.

"All right," he said in a calm voice, "does anyone know where Voldemort has set up his headquarters." Everyone stared at him with wide eyes.

"Harry..." said Hermione quietly, "I thought we were going back to the library today. There has to be something that we can find. Something that we can do. I don't think we should go out against Voldemort without knowing what we are doing."

"I know what I'm doing," said Harry calmly. "I can't tell you, you'll only tell me it's stupid and that I shouldn't and on and on like that. People are dying. We've had friends and family die. While that has happened, we have sat and studied and worried and tried to figure out what we should do. I'm tired of waiting and trying to decide what we should do. I want to know what we can do, now." Everyone paused for a moment and tried to figure out what to say.

"All right," said Remus, "here's what we can do. We have charms and spells that we can use to fight the Death Eaters. We have potions as well that we can use to fight them and we have some to help with defense and healing. That's it Harry, that's all that we have." Harry nodded and thought for a moment.

"That's what we have, and that's what we are going into battle with."

"Harry-"

"No, Hermione. I've done enough studying, enough searching, and enough waiting to last me a lifetime. I know what I'm doing. I want to fight today, and I want to end this war today. By the end of the day, if I'm right, either I or Voldemort will be dead. Either way, the war will be over."

* * *

An hour later plans were made to fly to the headquarters of Voldemort himself. Harry and Draco were putting on their cloaks and packing away potions in hidden pockets and getting themselves ready.

"Harry?" said Draco in a shaky voice.

"Yes," said Harry with some confidence but on a level that only Draco could hear his voice was shaking just as much as Draco's.

"I... look at me." Harry turned and faced Draco. Draco ran the two steps between the two of them and they kissed furiously as if they would never see each other again. Even when they stopped kissing they still held each other tightly and buried their faces in each other's shoulders.

"Harry... Harry I love you," Draco gasped out.

"I know," said Harry calmly. "I love you, Draco."

* * *

Ten minutes later Harry, Draco, Hermione, George, Fred, Remus, Tonks, and Mr. Weasley were all on their broomsticks and flying. Even though it was afternoon, storms were rolling in and the sky was dark and cloudy. Voldemort had been working out of his old house and that's where they were heading now. As they landed on the lawn all of them quickly dismounted their broomsticks and hid them in the near by bushes that lined the street where the house stood. They could see that there were wards and protection spells all around the house. A few began to raise their wands to begin taking down the wards, but Harry held up his hand to stop them.

"Lord Voldemort!" shouted Harry. "I, Harry Potter challenge you!" Everyone turned to Harry with fear and astonishment in their eyes. Harry only looked ahead with confidence. Then they heard an old door creak open and they all turned to look at the front door of the house. There stood Lord Voldemort. He wore black robes that went to his toes. His hair was combed back smoothly. His snake like eyes stared out of his pale face and his mouth held an arrogant smirk.

"Well then," said his smooth dark voice, "this is expected, not quite so soon, but still expected. What is the challenge?"

"I propose a trade."

"That isn't a challenge."

"After the trade, I challenge you to a wizard's duel."

"To the death then?"

"To the death."

"I'm intrigued Potter." Voldemort waved a wand and the wards and protection spells around the house fell. "Only you can come in. No one else."

"Send away your Death Eaters and tell them not to hurt my friends."

"Agreed, each of us shall be alone." Twenty Death Eaters filed out of the house and stood on the opposite side of the yard from the Order of the Phoenix members.

"Play nice," said Harry with a fake grin at Draco. Their fingers brushed slightly before Harry walked across the front yard and into the house. Lord Voldemort shut the door with an audible click. Everyone on the front yard settled in to wait.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and on like that...

Ok, I do appologize for the increadibly late update on this. I got writer's block in a major way and then... alot of stuff came up. So, this is the last chapter, the war ends, Harry and Draco have yummy gay sex, and onlike that.

thanks to all who reviewed his and I hope you like how this ends.

* * *

Harry walked into the house and looked around at the room he had entered. It was a bare room with just a table, two chairs, and the fire place crackling away. There were no pictures on the walls, no tapestries, no rugs, nothing. Voldemort quietly shut the door and then moved across the room to one of the chairs at the table with all the fluidity of a snake.

"Please, sit," he said in a calm and even voice. "It's not every day that I get a visitor in my house who is actually worthy to be called my equal."

"I'm sure that's true," said Harry just as calmly. Voldemort sat down at the table and placed his hands flat on the table with his palms down. Harry sat across from Voldemort and did the same.

"You spoke of a trade that you wish to make."

"Yes. You wanted to split your soul into seven pieces." Voldemort raised an eyebrow at the information Harry said to him.

"Dumbledore. I knew he would find a way. So of course he entrusted this great secret to you. What about it?"

"You succeeded." Voldemort looked confused for a moment.

"What do you mean? I made five horcruxes, not six. If I had made six then yes I would have split my soul into seven pieces, but I only made five."

"You made a sixth." Harry lifted his hand slowly and pushed his shaggy hair away from the scar on his forehead. Voldemort stared at the scar with wide eyes.

"Your scar? You? You are the one who carries the last piece of my soul?"

"Makes sense doesn't it?" Harry calmly returned his hand to the table. "Can you extract this piece of your soul from me?"

"What do you want in return?"

"I want Draco Malfoy to be left unharmed, untouched, and alive at the end of your campaign."

"That little cretin has been nothing but a problem to me! He promised to kill Dumbledore and he did not deliver on it. He is a child who tried to play with the big boys and now he needs to take the consequences."

"Then you won't get the last piece of your soul back."

"The last piece of my soul for the life of Draco Malfoy. Why in hell would you want Draco Malfoy to stay alive?"

"Because I'm in love with him." There was a pause that fell suddenly over the room.

"Love never brought anyone anything but pain and death."

"He's given me life when I thought there could be none. He's helped me. And I love him. I don't care what else you do or who else you kill. I want Draco Malfoy to be unharmed, untouched, and no spells cast on him by you or your Death Eaters. He must be left alive."

"What will that accomplish?"

"The man I love will be alive. I may be dead, but he will be alive. That's the way I want it."

"And if you die, he will be left alone and will feel the pain of losing you. Why does no one listen when I say that love is not worth the pain and anguish that it leaves behind?"

"Because love brings more than pain and anguish. It brings happiness, contentment, and the knowledge that you are loved. That someone finds you precious and can't live without you is a feeling like no other. Especially when you've been made to feel that you are expendable and are worth nothing your entire life. Now, do we have a deal?" Harry held out his hand. He knew what would happen next. He knew it would hurt. But he also knew that it had to be done. Voldemort slowly smiled.

"What's one little brat's life compared to the rest of my soul. Deal." He took Harry's hand in a firm handshake. He gripped Harry's hand tightly and he could feel his scar burning on his forehead. But he kept staring straight at Voldemort as the evil wizard stared back. Harry could almost feel the bones in his hand bending with the force that Voldemort was taking back this small piece of his soul. Harry wanted to cry out with the pain but he didn't. He bit his tongue until he could taste blood and tried to breathe through the pain. Voldemort sneered an evil sneer and then suddenly let go of Harry's hand. Harry let his head fall to the table and panted desperately as if he had just come up from the bottom of a lake.

"That feels better," he heard Voldemort say with a sneer in his voice. Harry lifted his head and watched the evil wizard stand up, stretch his limbs as if he had been sitting for days, and then turn to Harry. "Now, onto the wizard's duel."

"It has all ready begun," said Harry. Voldemort looked at him with confusion on his face.

"What are you talking about-" Voldemort stopped his sentence suddenly and gripped the table next to him.

"It's a bad idea to make a living thing a horcrux. A living thing is unpredictable, unlike an object. Further more, a living thing has experiences, lives life, while an object just sits there. A living thing has a soul. A soul affects all other souls around it. Including even a piece of a soul that is attached to it."

"What is this magic? What the hell is wrong with me?"

"You took back the last piece of your soul. But it's been living with me for seventeen years. It's been affected by me. It was affected by the loss of my parents and the love that they had to save me. It's the love that my parents had to save me from you that is killing you now."

"What… no… it can't be possible!" Harry looked up and saw Lily and James Potter standing next to him.

"It's time Tom," said James in a calm voice. "Time to give it up."

"NO!" shouted Voldemort and waved his wand threatening at them even as he fell to his knees.

"You really think that will work on ghosts like us," said Sirius Black's voice as he stepped up beside James as well. "You are slipping."

"It's over Tom," said a gentle voice. A woman that Harry recognized as Voldemort's mother appeared. "It's time to come home."

"NO… No… please no…" Voldemort was shaking, and just as Professor Quirrell had done six years before, Voldemort's body was starting to disintegrate.

"It's over," said a deep voice that Harry then recognized as the ghost of Voldemort's father. Voldemort looked up and almost recoiled at the sight of his father.

"Please… Dad… please help me…"

"I will, it's all right Tom, I will." Both of Voldemort's parents knelt on either side of Voldemort. As his body disintegrated, his ghost was left behind. His parents gently put their arms around him. Then, in the sight of a few ghosts and Harry Potter himself, Tom Riddle wept for the love he never allowed himself to feel. The three Marvolos then disappeared from the house.

"We love you Harry," said James Potter's ghost gently. "I want to you to know that. No matter who you love, we and Sirius will always love you. When it's your time, I promise that we will come get you."

"I love you," said Harry in a shaky voice.

"We know," said Lilly Potter.

"We've always known," said Sirius. "And we'll always love you." The three ghosts disappeared quietly and left Harry alone in the house. Harry rested his head in his hands and began to weep. For a second he wondered where his scar was but then reminded himself of everything that had gone on that day. Slowly he stood up from the table and pushed the tears off of his cheeks with the back on his hand. He opened the door to the house and stepped out.

"Lord Voldemort is dead," he said in a loud and clear voice. Everyone stood for a moment in shock. Then the people of the Order of the Phoenix began cheering and the Death Eaters who were still present apparated away in fear that they would then be captured and taken away without the protection of their dark lord. Draco ran at full speed across the lawn and nearly knocked Harry over with the force of the two of them colliding into each other.

"I was worried…" whispered Draco so quietly that Harry could barely hear him.

"I'm alive, love, it's over." Draco looked at Harry's face and then his brow knitted in confusion.

"Where's…?"

"Gone. Voldemort took the last piece of his soul back. That was his down fall."

"How?"

"Souls affect other souls. I read that. I affected the last piece of his soul, I showed it love. I showed it the love I had for my friends, my parents, and for you. He wanted love, he just never allowed himself to feel it."

"Was that the trade?"

"Yes."

"What did you get?"

"He and his army were not allowed to harm you in any way or kill you." Draco stared at Harry in disbelief. "If I was going to have to die, I wanted you to live no matter what." Draco found himself speechless. Finally he stopped trying to find the words and kissed Harry gently on the mouth. Harry closed his eyes and let himself get lost for a few moments in the safety of his lover's touch. Draco then led him away from the house and back to the cheering group of people.

* * *

That night there was a party at the house. A large party and everyone it seemed was invited. Harry managed to stand the party for about two hours before he grew tired of the constant compliments and congratulations. While almost everyone was preoccupied in their own conversations, Harry slipped through the shadows and through dark corners and finally up the darkened stairs and into his room where he quickly and quietly shut the door.

Draco had seen his lover slip away and smirked to himself wondering if Harry would mind some company. Since he was all ready a bit of an outcast at this party, he slipped

through the crowd easily and went upstairs and into the room that Harry and Draco had been sharing. As Draco shut the door he saw Harry look up at him quickly with a tear stained face. Draco shut the door and put a locking charm on it silently.

"Please don't make me go back out there…" whispered Harry.

"I won't," said Draco quietly. Then he put silencing charms on the room so that no one outside of the room could hear them. Harry took in a shuddering breath and sat up slowly. Draco slowly walked over to Harry and kissed Harry's forehead where the scar had once been and now was only smooth white skin. Harry sighed and pulled Draco's mouth to his in a hungry kiss that took Draco's breath away. "What do you want my love?" he asked of Harry.

"I want you. I want you to make love to me. I've been strong for everyone. I've fought. I… I don't want that tonight. I want to be yours. I want to feel you inside me. I want…" Harry bit his lip in hesitation.

"You can say it."

"I want… I want to be just a regular person tonight. I don't want you to make love to the conquering hero or the boy who lived or the holy Mecca or whatever the hell they think I am. I want you to make love to me. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes, it does." Draco kissed Harry gently "Your wish is my command." Draco slowly pulled Harry's shirt off of his body and gently caressed every inch of skin he found while kissing Harry's mouth and neck. Then he knelt beside the bed and pulled off Harry's shoes and socks. While kissing Harry's neck he carefully pulled down Harry's pants and boxer shorts at the same time. After pulling the last garments that Harry had on off of the boy's feet he came back to Harry's mouth. He kissed and nibbled his way down Harry's neck, down his chest at which point Harry gave up trying to sit up for this and laid down on the bed, and finally stopped at Harry's burning erection that had been waiting patiently for this. Draco carefully licked the length of Harry's erection and smiled from the gasp he heard from Harry.

"Ay Gods! Draco…" Draco grasped Harry's hand that was gripping the blankets on the bed as he took the full length of his lover into his mouth. Harry moaned quietly and then gasped as Draco's tongue oscillated from side to side and massaged the sensitive flesh. "Draco… please… oh Gods…" Then Draco felt Harry's hands pulling him and he let Harry's erection easily slip from his mouth. "Kiss me…" Draco quickly put his knees on the bed and leaned over claiming Harry's mouth with his own. He felt Harry's hands on his back and pulling at Draco's shirt. It was then that he realized that he was still dressed. He was about to raise his hand and take his clothes off by magic when Harry's hand stopped him and said, "No, please… let me?" Draco smiled and nodded to Harry willingly. Both of them rolled over so that Draco was under Harry.

Harry plundered Draco's neck as his hands went up Draco's shirt and gently teased the nipples he found there. He smiled as Draco gasped from the attentions he was now being given. He broke off the kiss long enough to pull Draco's shirt off and then began kissing him again. Just as Draco had done to him, he kissed Draco's neck and let his hands roam down Draco's chest. He kneeled beside the bed and pulled off Draco's shoes and socks followed closely by his pants and boxers. As Harry moved back onto the bed, Draco shifted so that their legs wouldn't hang over the side of the bed. They laid side by side now and were making out hungrily and letting their hands roam all over each others bodies. At some point, Harry was never sure how, but Draco was on top of him with a bottle of lube in his hand. Draco gently caressed Harry's cheek and said gently,

"I love you. Always remember that." Harry nodded.

"And I love you." Harry reached up and gently touched Draco's cheek as well. Draco leaned over and kissed Harry. Harry stiffened for half a second when he felt Draco's finger that had been coated with lube sliding into him. When Draco added a second finger he brushed the secret spot that he knew would make Harry scream. Harry did scream in pleasure into Draco's kiss as Draco held him down with his body. Harry desperately wanted more as Draco kept using his fingers. "Please… Draco… I need you."

Draco nodded to him and Harry felt the fingers leave his body. He whimpered but then whimpered again as he felt Draco slowly start to push into him. Harry gripped Draco's shoulders tightly as Draco eased into him and kissed his neck and when he was completely buried in the boy he loved he kissed Harry on the mouth. Slowly Draco started to move inside of Harry and brushed the one spot that would make him cry out in pleasure over and over again. Harry felt himself being carried away on an ocean of constant feeling and sensation. It felt like it wasn't ever going to stop and that he would be here forever. But as Draco pushed in harder and faster he could feel his climax building until he was shaking uncontrollably on the bed and then Draco shaking as well but both of them holding tight to each other. They held each other through the shakes and tears that came afterwards and only used magic to clean up because they were too tired to clean up themselves.

"I love you, Harry," said Draco in the dark as they were falling asleep.

"I love you, Draco," replied Harry and the two kissed each other before nestling into each other's bodies to fall asleep. Both boys now looked forward to the next morning instead of dreading what was to come next. Their enemy destroyed, they now had each other. They loved each other. And this was something no one could take from them.


End file.
